To tweet: https://es.pn/1xVOOVx
Rahul Dravid and Sanjay Manjrekar host another episode of Modern Masters, the exclusive digital video series by ESPNcricinfo, profiling 14 cricketing greats who have graced the modern game and played alongside Dravid. The latest episode features Australian batsman, Steve Waugh.
Each Modern Masters episode examines the technique, temperament, adaptability and impact of the players with the aim of discovering what made them unique.
The first two Waugh episodes, on his technique and impact, are available as of November 19, 2014, on ESPNcricinfo. Among the highlights from Dravid’s comments from all four episodes on Steve Waugh, are:
On appreciation for Waugh:
“Not only had the respect of cricket fans but also the respect of fellow players.”
“I [Dravid] really looked up to him growing up, especially just his struggles initially. Coming through and failing initially as an Australian player and then being able to come back and sort of remodel himself and to have the record that he had and phenomenal achievements as a player. To score over 30 test hundreds and average over 50 like he did at the end of his career was a great achievement considering he had a very difficult first 30 test matches.”
On his technique:
“Very interesting for somebody who before the ball was delivered would go right back on the batting crease and from then just a transfer of weight if he had to play off the front foot.”
“He went so far back in his crease initially and you always felt that you had a change against him early on if you were able to pitch the ball up and that was generally the tactic to get him out.”
“His hands were incredible, one of the great things you always noticed about [him] was the speed of his hands and how they got in the right position.”
“Speed that he was able to generate through his hands and through his wrists of the ball was quite incredible. Great hand eye coordination. Extremely strong cutter.”
“Started his career playing a lot of pull shots but later on decided not to play them and relied more on playing cuts and waited for the ball to be pitched up.”
On his character and how he tackled the short ball:
“Bobby Simpson told me [Dravid] that Steve Waugh when he first came he was actually a really attacking batsmen, positive batsmen, took on the hook and pull a lot but it got him out a few times and he wasn’t comfortable with it.”
“Mentally decided not to play that shot and become a more effective batsmen. Take out that chance of getting out.”
“He played some absolute career defining innings for Australia especially under Mark Taylor’s team and their journey of becoming the number one team in the world.”
On how his technique is a little un-Australian like:
“Happy to keep a low back lift.”
“..[He] played from an earlier era in the 80’s and kept playing till 2000. A lot of the Australian batsmen cock their wrists and were strong pullers.”
“Waugh was different in the sense that that he kept his hands low and relied on the speed of his hands to generate the pace and the power and play the shots he was strong and comfortable with. Even though he moved back a lot, in some ways you felt he was in a position to transfer his feet get his weight forward which was the key.”
On temperament being his great strength:
“I think there was a period in that time where he was extremely consistent and fantastic in pressure situations. In big games or when Australia were 3 down for not much you could almost expect [him] to come score runs.”
“Technique was not sometimes the best or the most ideal technique like we’ve discussed, it was his strength of mind and his belief that got him through fantastic situations. He just believed that he could score and wanted to score.”
“Remember a 2nd innings in a test match in Delhi on a wicket that was turning square and Australia were struggling..in a low scoring game in Delhi and Australia lost the test match Steve Waugh played a second innings 60.”
“Willed himself that I’m going to score runs and sheer concentration. Ability to focus on one ball at a time was apparent.. and he was able to get himself into that zone that gave him the best chance to succeed.”
On deliberately avoiding attacking to win matches:
“Tried attack in the first 25-30 matches but it probably didn’t work for him and he was dropped from the Australian side. Had to come back, fight his way back into the side. Once he was in the side, he realized the most effective way to stay in it is to keep scoring runs and be consistent and that’s the way to help your team.”
“For a large part of his career he was that Mr. Consistent for Australia whom you could rely on all times to either build on the base you set for him or dig yourself out of a hole if you found yourself in one.”
On the impact he made:
“Australia’s had a lot of great batsmen but I [Dravid] definitely think that he deserves the respect of everyone.”
“I can understand in terms of aesthetically and to watch maybe he wasn’t as pleasing as some of the other great Australian players but in terms of effectiveness and sheer ability and the impact that he had on Australian cricket and some of the batsmen coming through and the example he set for them he deserves all our respect.”
Comparison with brother, Mark Waugh:
“Mark Waugh was a really good player. Better player of spin than Steve Waugh.”
“Overall as a career Steve Waugh’s numbers speak for themselves. Been more consistent. Has a body of work around him. Unfair to compare them, both two different players.”
“Obviously nice to watch an exciting batsmen play. Does catch your imagination. We all want to be entertained. But as a team mate or as a supporter of a particular team or if you have something invested in the team then you want effectiveness. If you are just a spectator the pleasing thing might please you more.”
On a different approach he had toward the tail-enders:
“Allowed the tail ender to take fire and not protect them.”
“He was one of those who pioneered that trusted his batsmen. Saw that a lot with Laxman and even with Shivnarine Chanderpaul.”
“Whether that had something to do with tail enders becoming slightly better batsmen and helmets coming in which gave them a better chance of hanging in.”
“Not bunnies as they used to be. Maybe he fed on that, realized that.”
On-field battles that he had:
“Tough competitor. One of the things that we did was try not to speak to him. His motivation was to try to irritate someone so somebody spoke to him and he enjoyed that.”
“One of the things we liked to do when he first came in was just have silence. One way of sort of upsetting him a little bit by ensuring he didn’t have anything to talk to you about.”
“Privately I’ve known Sachin Tendulkar to be a huge admirer of Steve Waugh and his ways and just the way he built up a test innings so that’s tribute enough.”
https://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/video_audio/modern_masters/index.html
About ESPNcricinfo:
With 20 years of heritage, ESPNcricinfo is the world’s leading digital cricket brand. Founded in 1993 and acquired by ESPN in 2007, ESPNcricinfo is committed to delivering an independent voice for comprehensive coverage of the sport and is available to cricket fans online and across mobile platforms.
In India, ESPNcricinfo is the No. 1 digital sports destination and the No. 1 cricket brand, leading all competitors in unique audience, total time spent, visits, page views and average minutes per visitor. It has an average minute audience that is nearly double its nearest competitor – meaning that during any average minute of a month, nearly twice as many fans are on ESPNcricinfo as on any other sports destination.
Globally, ESPNcricinfo leads its top competitors in average minute audience, unique visitors, page views, average minutes per visitor, and total visits. Despite that leading position, it continues to grow. Across online, mobile and tablet devices (web and apps) fans log up to 2 billion minutes of time spent each month with ESPNcricinfo globally, along with millions of video views.
-30-